The most common mistake travelers make isn’t overpacking or missing a flight. It’s eating at the place with the laminated menu and the photos of every dish — the one strategically placed between the landmark and the tour bus stop.

I’ve spent years refining a different approach. It starts at breakfast. Not at your hotel. At the place where the locals eat before work — the one with three tables, no English menu, and a queue that moves fast because everyone knows exactly what they want.

Here’s what I’ve learned: follow the noise, not the Yelp stars. Look for handwritten menus. Sit at the counter. Point at what the person next to you ordered. Say yes to things you can’t pronounce. The food will never be safe — but it will always be real…